From looking at the mark scheme and peer assessing previous
work, I have been able to highlight the flaws in the work of other students and
think carefully about how they could be improved. This will prevent me from
making the same mistakes and hopefully aid me in achieving a much higher grade.
As well as this, I have been able to pick out positive things and assess how
effective they were, which has given me a better idea of some things I could
include in my work to gain the top grades.
This will make my production easier and less time consuming
as I now know which things to steer clear of whilst making a BSR opening
sequence. For example, in one example I watched the storyline and concept were
fairly good but I felt the actors did not show enough emotion and emphasis
therefore making it less enjoyable. Now when making my BSR opening sequence I
realise that choice of actors can make a vital difference in an opening
sequence and I will now take more careful consideration when picking mine.
I will also try to avoid making my sequence too long and
overcomplicating the themes, this can make the storyline and themes unclear and
will cause confusion for my audience. Another thing I will avoid is using too
much or too little dialogue. I will use enough so that the audience and
examiner have a good understanding of what is happening but not too much that
it becomes impossible for the audience to comprehend the scene.
In regards to the codes and conventions in British Social
Realism films I have learned that; use of non professional actors give a more
realistic and natural feel, British
social realism films tend to be filmed on real, actual locations such as
schools or council estates. British social realism incorporates serious and
relevant themes but often adds quite a humorous tone. They also use appropriate
accents, correct settings and local issues within the region where it is set.
This impacts my production as I now understand which
conventions to include in my film to make it a clear British social realist
film, instead of just a film which could be of any genre. I can now use the
information learned to make appropriate decisions regarding setting, location,
actors, themes, scripts and more. I have learned that within all these things I
must decide carefully so that the film appears as extremely realistic.
The text I found particularly influential was the Selfish
Giant. I was captured by the harsh and gritty reality of the film and the story
that follows two isolated school kids struggle through school and work life. I was
particularly aware of the regional identity in this film, it was set in
Bradford and lives of those living in Northern England were portrayed
realistically.
I think I will be most likely to conform to the conventions.
This is because it will make production faster and easier and enable me to make
quick, reliable decisions based on what I have seen in other films we have been
shown. The conventions have proved to be used effectively in several social
realist films particularly in the selfish giant, which I enjoyed. The
conventions also give me a clear set of guidelines as to what a typical good social
realist film should include hence my reason for conforming to them.
Week Three
This week I have learned that my commissioner, film four
productions is a company run by channel four productions. Film four productions
is a producer, distributor and exhibitor of films and have exhibited some big
social realist films including popular film This is England. They fund
production for up to 20 films a year contribution on average 500,000 per film. Film
Four Productions have built a reputation for producing social realist films,
often referred to as kitchen sink dramas. These films portray the domestic
hardships of working class Britons, as realistically as possible.
I have learned a great deal about sound this week,
particularly about diegetic and non diegetic sound, music and dialogue which
makes films more successful. Sounds can help connote various themes and
messages to the audience as well as aid them in understanding what is happening
throughout. Music can also add emphasis and excitement as well as add tension
to certain scenes if and when it is needed.
This will help my production because I now have a good idea
of which sounds are used in british social realist films and how effective they
are for the audience.
Week Four
This week I've learnt that title devices are very useful in BSR opening sequences. The titles usually include: Production company name and logo, institution name and logo, Main characters names, producers name and name of the film. They appear in any order.
This will impact my production because it helps me decide which titles and credits are appropriate to include and what fonts and graphics look good.
Week Five
The key issues regarding my research this week have been trying to decide which sound I would use for my film. BSR films are often harsh and rough, so I would have to be careful to select music that reflects the mood of the film. However I do not want the music to be very sad and depressing so that it is off putting for the audience. Also, the choice of music is limited because a lot of music is copyrighted.
The decisions I have made based on this is to use instrumentals to songs instead of songs with lyrics. If I were to use songs with lyrics, the lyrics may connote certain things that do not fit in or fall in line with my film. Also, I decided I would have ask for permission for music I want to use.
Week Six
This week I learnt that the conventions of an opening sequence are: Super imposed graphics, Production company, producers, Directors, actors, Engaging music, Minimal dialogue, Introduce characters, Introduce setting, Introduce narrative slightly, Non linear start, Smash mouth opening, Intrigue/enigma, Montage and Establishing shots. A smash mouth opening is where a film begins right in the beginning of fast paced action and this makes the audience want to watch it and leaves them with clues. A non-linear start is where a film does not start at the beginning of the film.
This impacts my production because I have learnt it is good to use as many conventions as possible and I will attempt to do this. I have seen how these conventions have been used in other films and how they have made it interesting to watch so I will use the same guidelines in my production. Especially the smash mouth opening, I would like to consider using this as I have seen it this week in London to Brighton and it has been effective in creating an enigma and making me question what is going on and what is going to happen next.
Some methods I might use in my opening are Establishing shots. I would use an establishing shot because it means that the audience will be fully aware of the area and location that the film is set before the characters even appear, this will create clues about regional identity. I might use a fast paced montage, and cut between various scenes because this will make it interesting and engaging for the audience to watch without giving away too much of the storyline.
Week 7
This influenced my planning because it made me think about the questions I need to ask and the types of responses I will receive. I used the information learned to create five questions based on my film that I will ask people. After receiving these answers I will write a conclusion about the results I have received.
Week 8
This week I developed a concept for my BSR film based on; news articles, films that I've seen, past student work and looking at typical BSR films. Using these resources, I was able to come up with several original ideas for an interesting concept for a british social realism film. I looked at things that had been done before as well as things that hadn't and thought about how they could work and if it would make a good film or not.
The key influences were the newspaper articles. I liked these because I could envision them fully and it adds a sense of realism to my film if it is actually an adaptation of a real life story. The newspaper articles gave me a numerous amount of ideas and were relevant as most of the stories were based in England.
I decided my group because I thought could use the strengths and skills that I have, along with the strengths and skills my partner to produce a good, well-thought movie. We decided that we would be good at different aspects in the production process which would be helpful as we could do divide work and get multiple things done at once which would help to reduce production time and also we thought we would be able to work efficiently as a group.
I didn't foresee any issues with our partnership
Week Nine
This week I learned that narrative is one of the key things in any film. This week we used a shooting script made by another group and tried to re-enact the scene using the script. We found this very difficult and time consuming because the script was not clear and neither was the dialogue. The actors names were mixed with the characters names and so we could not tell who the characters were talking to. Upon finishing recording the scene, we realized it was unclear, confusing and not very interesting to watch.
We also learned about todorov's narrative and how to plan each part of our film so that it is exciting. We split the narrative into parts; Exposition, Agents of change, Elaboration, Coda, Climax and resolution, Coda and conflict.
I used this during my production and split my narrative into these parts. It helped me think about my narrative from start to finish instead of just planning the opening. I wrote a detailed paragraph for each section so that the narrative is interesting but not too confusing to follow.
Week Ten
The decisions I made this week about the content of my BSR treatment are that, each aspect of my film should be planned in detail. I decided I needed to include pictures and or videos/articles of each thing that I describe. E.g; If I decide a location, I need to include a picture of it. I also decided that I should include previous ideas, things that I have considered even if I have now disregarded them, and explain why I think it wouldn't be effective to use them.
I used these decisions to create my treatment, I described each thing that I wanted to do in detail from start to finish, even if it wouldn't be possible. I talked about props, setting, locations, budget and many more things.
This week I learned primary research is effective when creating a film. There are two types of responses, Qualitative and Quantitative. Qualitative are answers about opinions and judgments, usually longer and more detailed answers whereas Quantitative responses are those that can be statistically analyzed, data including numbers. Qualitative answers tend to be the result of open questions whereas quantitative are usually the result of closed questions (yes/no questions).
This influenced my planning because it made me think about the questions I need to ask and the types of responses I will receive. I used the information learned to create five questions based on my film that I will ask people. After receiving these answers I will write a conclusion about the results I have received.
Week 11
This week I did my production paperwork including my call sheets, location reccies, location list and production schedules. This has helped me plan each aspect of my filming including,where i'm filming, who i'm filming with, dates, times, costumes, props and more. This is so it is my filming is more efficient and less time consuming.
There were some problems when making my call sheets because of upcoming exams and also the availability of my actors, however we quickly found replacements for the actors who were unavailable/had little availability.
Week 12
This week, we didn't do much because of mock week.
Week 13
This week, we finished finalising sound. When looking for sound, we had to refer back to our treatment so we could remember which genre of music we decided on. We also had to take into account that we hadn't filmed yet, so instead of picking one soundtrack, we picked various ones so that if the first one didn't fit with the film we had other options. Also, we did graphics including a title screen and a production company logo which were both designed on fireworks. On film cut pro, we designed some ooe
Week Four
This week I've learnt that title devices are very useful in BSR opening sequences. The titles usually include: Production company name and logo, institution name and logo, Main characters names, producers name and name of the film. They appear in any order.
This will impact my production because it helps me decide which titles and credits are appropriate to include and what fonts and graphics look good.
Week Five
The key issues regarding my research this week have been trying to decide which sound I would use for my film. BSR films are often harsh and rough, so I would have to be careful to select music that reflects the mood of the film. However I do not want the music to be very sad and depressing so that it is off putting for the audience. Also, the choice of music is limited because a lot of music is copyrighted.
The decisions I have made based on this is to use instrumentals to songs instead of songs with lyrics. If I were to use songs with lyrics, the lyrics may connote certain things that do not fit in or fall in line with my film. Also, I decided I would have ask for permission for music I want to use.
Week Six
This week I learnt that the conventions of an opening sequence are: Super imposed graphics, Production company, producers, Directors, actors, Engaging music, Minimal dialogue, Introduce characters, Introduce setting, Introduce narrative slightly, Non linear start, Smash mouth opening, Intrigue/enigma, Montage and Establishing shots. A smash mouth opening is where a film begins right in the beginning of fast paced action and this makes the audience want to watch it and leaves them with clues. A non-linear start is where a film does not start at the beginning of the film.
This impacts my production because I have learnt it is good to use as many conventions as possible and I will attempt to do this. I have seen how these conventions have been used in other films and how they have made it interesting to watch so I will use the same guidelines in my production. Especially the smash mouth opening, I would like to consider using this as I have seen it this week in London to Brighton and it has been effective in creating an enigma and making me question what is going on and what is going to happen next.
Some methods I might use in my opening are Establishing shots. I would use an establishing shot because it means that the audience will be fully aware of the area and location that the film is set before the characters even appear, this will create clues about regional identity. I might use a fast paced montage, and cut between various scenes because this will make it interesting and engaging for the audience to watch without giving away too much of the storyline.
Week 7
This influenced my planning because it made me think about the questions I need to ask and the types of responses I will receive. I used the information learned to create five questions based on my film that I will ask people. After receiving these answers I will write a conclusion about the results I have received.
Week 8
This week I developed a concept for my BSR film based on; news articles, films that I've seen, past student work and looking at typical BSR films. Using these resources, I was able to come up with several original ideas for an interesting concept for a british social realism film. I looked at things that had been done before as well as things that hadn't and thought about how they could work and if it would make a good film or not.
The key influences were the newspaper articles. I liked these because I could envision them fully and it adds a sense of realism to my film if it is actually an adaptation of a real life story. The newspaper articles gave me a numerous amount of ideas and were relevant as most of the stories were based in England.
I decided my group because I thought could use the strengths and skills that I have, along with the strengths and skills my partner to produce a good, well-thought movie. We decided that we would be good at different aspects in the production process which would be helpful as we could do divide work and get multiple things done at once which would help to reduce production time and also we thought we would be able to work efficiently as a group.
I didn't foresee any issues with our partnership
Week Nine
This week I learned that narrative is one of the key things in any film. This week we used a shooting script made by another group and tried to re-enact the scene using the script. We found this very difficult and time consuming because the script was not clear and neither was the dialogue. The actors names were mixed with the characters names and so we could not tell who the characters were talking to. Upon finishing recording the scene, we realized it was unclear, confusing and not very interesting to watch.
We also learned about todorov's narrative and how to plan each part of our film so that it is exciting. We split the narrative into parts; Exposition, Agents of change, Elaboration, Coda, Climax and resolution, Coda and conflict.
I used this during my production and split my narrative into these parts. It helped me think about my narrative from start to finish instead of just planning the opening. I wrote a detailed paragraph for each section so that the narrative is interesting but not too confusing to follow.
Week Ten
The decisions I made this week about the content of my BSR treatment are that, each aspect of my film should be planned in detail. I decided I needed to include pictures and or videos/articles of each thing that I describe. E.g; If I decide a location, I need to include a picture of it. I also decided that I should include previous ideas, things that I have considered even if I have now disregarded them, and explain why I think it wouldn't be effective to use them.
I used these decisions to create my treatment, I described each thing that I wanted to do in detail from start to finish, even if it wouldn't be possible. I talked about props, setting, locations, budget and many more things.
This week I learned primary research is effective when creating a film. There are two types of responses, Qualitative and Quantitative. Qualitative are answers about opinions and judgments, usually longer and more detailed answers whereas Quantitative responses are those that can be statistically analyzed, data including numbers. Qualitative answers tend to be the result of open questions whereas quantitative are usually the result of closed questions (yes/no questions).
This influenced my planning because it made me think about the questions I need to ask and the types of responses I will receive. I used the information learned to create five questions based on my film that I will ask people. After receiving these answers I will write a conclusion about the results I have received.
Week 11
This week I did my production paperwork including my call sheets, location reccies, location list and production schedules. This has helped me plan each aspect of my filming including,where i'm filming, who i'm filming with, dates, times, costumes, props and more. This is so it is my filming is more efficient and less time consuming.
There were some problems when making my call sheets because of upcoming exams and also the availability of my actors, however we quickly found replacements for the actors who were unavailable/had little availability.
Week 12
This week, we didn't do much because of mock week.
Week 13
This week, we finished finalising sound. When looking for sound, we had to refer back to our treatment so we could remember which genre of music we decided on. We also had to take into account that we hadn't filmed yet, so instead of picking one soundtrack, we picked various ones so that if the first one didn't fit with the film we had other options. Also, we did graphics including a title screen and a production company logo which were both designed on fireworks. On film cut pro, we designed some ooe
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